Archive for July, 2009

I have two dear friends who had both been orphaned as foundlings, then adopted as infants by loving families. They were entrusted to wonderful homes with caring parents, yet the fruit of their upbringing was wildly different, based primarily upon their own perception of their original origins.

One of them was not burdened by his knowledge of once having been an orphan. He viewed himself as a child of the universe, and knew that he was there in the world because Creator wanted him to be. He knew, deep inside, that his birth parents were simply the instruments that the cosmos used to bring him here. Because of this uplifting perspective, he experienced every day with a heart full of joy and appreciation.

The other friend was not nearly so wise. He thought that, because his birth parents obviously didn’t want him, there must be something lacking in his own being. Nothing he did was ever good enough in his own eyes. Every day was a fruitless proving of himself to himself. He lied to others in order to make himself look larger than life because, in his own mind, he wasn’t good enough without embellishment.

These two friends are two sides of the same coin. Very similar experiences brought forth very different results, depending on the viewpoint – and spirituality – of the individual. Perception can indeed become reality.